Radio-tracking dolphins reveals intimate details about their behavior

Using telemetry units in hospitals to monitor patient health is standard practice. Now, a similar approach is proving to be invaluable for dolphins, too. Researchers from Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and collaborators have conducted the most extensive radio-tracking effort of bottlenose dolphins in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) using radio-telemetry.

Findings from their study reveal new and surprising information about how they use their habitats, how they spend their time, and how they interact with their own species.

A population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) consider the IRL along the Atlantic Coast of Florida their “home sweet home.” Yet, little is known about their short-term movements, association patterns, activities, and habitat use — factors that are critical to understanding and managing animal populations. Moreover, these long-lived, top-level predators are impacted by ecological changes following large-scale environmental shifts including seagrass loss, fish kills and algal blooms.

Although IRL bottlenose dolphins have routinely been monitored via photo-identification surveys, this method only provides an intermittent evaluation. Radio-telemetry – on the other hand – enabled the researchers to consistently observe, track and monitor the dolphins in close proximity over time.

The study, recently published in the journal Aquatic Mammals, emphasizes the value of radio-telemetry as an important method to evaluate seasonal ranging patterns and provides essential baseline data on habitat preferences.

For the study, Greg O’Corry-Crowe, Ph.D., co-author and a research professor at FAU’s Harbor Branch, Wendy Noke Durden, M.S., lead author and a research scientist at Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, and collaborators, selected and fitted nine IRL bottlenose dolphins with radio tags in June 2007 and June 2010. Eight were male, one was female, and all of the animals were adult except for one juvenile.

They conducted radio-tracking by boat, with assistance from a Cessna 172 aircraft, and visually located and followed each animal several times per week. Over the course of 122 hours of observation, they compiled a total of 1,390 scan samples.

Results of the study show that these tagged dolphins spent most of their time traveling (53 percent), followed by milling together in groups (27 percent), foraging (17 percent), and socializing (2.3 percent). They also spent a surprising amount of their time on their own for such a famously social animal. The juvenile dolphin spent the most time alone, documented at 72 percent in 2007 and decreasing to 36 percent in 2010.

“The fact that these dolphins seem to have a lot of alone time adds a new dimension to our understanding of the sociality of the Indian River Lagoon dolphins,” said O’Corry-Crowe. “It also was fascinating to find that many dolphins have brief encounters with many other dolphins. The tracking approach is really adding a whole new dimension to how we view and ultimately conserve this species.”

The researchers found that some dolphins also formed longer associations. Adult males often pair up, but they also found one pair in the company of a female. According to the researchers, it appears that they primarily hang out to forage and eat rather than reproduce.

“Like other social mammal species, bottlenose dolphins exhibit a ‘fission-fusion’ social association where they hang out in a group or split up during the day. These associations can change frequently in composition and size or remain stable over the years. For example, male bottlenose dolphins have been known to form male-male alliances that last for years,” said Noke Durden. “Our study reveals how dynamic the fission-fusion aspect of dolphin societies can be over short temporal periods, with tagged dolphins having brief associations with a large number of marked and many other unmarked individual dolphins.”

Other findings show that only the social interactions and play activity varied by age class, with the juvenile animal spending more time socializing and playing with foreign objects like mangrove seeds and seagrass. The juvenile dolphin’s activities changed over time, increasing in time spent traveling and decreasing in time spent milling with other dolphins as it approached reproductive maturity.

Habitat-use patterns varied among the individual dolphins, however, the tagged dolphins predominantly used shallow to mid-depth water. They also foraged and played more in shallow waters compared to other depths. The fewest observations occurred in deep water. Social behavior, however, did not occur significantly more at any of the four water depths categories in the study.

One concern of the researchers is the fact that bottlenose dolphins and other animals consider the lagoon their permanent home, given the recent environmental changes in the IRL.

“Our finding that shallow water habitats are used extensively by Indian River Lagoon bottlenose dolphins, particularly for foraging, indicates that these habitats are likely critical to their health and fitness. Ecosystem changes in the lagoon could significantly impact them,” said O’Corry-Crowe.

Likewise, one animal only ranged approximately eight miles over 97 days, while on average dolphins ranged 17 miles during the course of the study.

This research is supported by proceeds from the Protect Wild Dolphins and Discover Florida’s Oceans specialty license plates; Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute; and by the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens Conservation Fund.

About Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute:

Founded in 1971, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University is a research community of marine scientists, engineers, educators and other professionals focused on Ocean Science for a Better World. The institute drives innovation in ocean engineering, at-sea operations, drug discovery and biotechnology from the oceans, coastal ecology and conservation, marine mammal research and conservation, aquaculture, ocean observing systems and marine education. For more information, visit http://www.fau.edu/hboi.

About Florida Atlantic University:

Florida Atlantic University, established in 1961, officially opened its doors in 1964 as the fifth public university in Florida. Today, the University, with an annual economic impact of $6.3 billion, serves more than 30,000 undergraduate and graduate students at sites throughout its six-county service region in southeast Florida. FAU’s world-class teaching and research faculty serves students through 10 colleges: the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, the College of Business, the College for Design and Social Inquiry, the College of Education, the College of Engineering and Computer Science, the Graduate College, the Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College, the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine, the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing and the Charles E. Schmidt College of Science. FAU is ranked as a High Research Activity institution by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. The University is placing special focus on the rapid development of critical areas that form the basis of its strategic plan: Healthy aging, biotech, coastal and marine issues, neuroscience, regenerative medicine, informatics, lifespan and the environment. These areas provide opportunities for faculty and students to build upon FAU’s existing strengths in research and scholarship. For more information, visit fau.edu.

About Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute:

Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute was founded in 1963 to conduct research in the tradition of world-renowned scientists Dr. Carl L. and Laura C. Hubbs. Since the beginning, the Institute’s scientists have been dedicated to addressing the complex conservation challenges facing our oceans and coasts. Institute scientists seek effective solutions that protect and conserve marine animals and habitats while balancing the needs of humans and their reliance on marine resources. In 2013, HSWRI celebrated 50 years of its mission “to return to the sea some measure of the benefits derived from it.” Additional information about the Institute can be found at http://www.hswri.org.

As an autonomous nonprofit organization, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute is dependent upon the benevolence of individuals and businesses to grow and sustain our primary mission programs at the highest levels possible. Donation opportunities can be found at https://donate.hswri.org/annualcampaign.